Rock her to sleep
by Sarah d'Emeraude
Summary: Rick was bone tired. He was heading to his cell without showering tonight, even if the opportunity would have been perfect. Nowadays, the showers were rarely empty, and he would be sure to find them lacking of curious people at this hour of the night. That was why he was so surprised when he approached his cell quietly to see that he wasn't going to be alone in the small space.


**Hellooooo everyone!**

 **Well I guess inspiration got me yesterday night, and I couldn't help it... this is very short, and fluffy, and unnecessary but yeah... there you go.**

 **This work couldn't have been posted without transstevebucky's help, and he's seriously the best at correcting my awful mistakes. So please, a round of applause to him!**

 **Anyway, I hope you'll like this! x**

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Rick was tired.

And he meant, tired . I'd-sleep-right-on-the-floor tired. Carl had asked to help him with the crops, and now that he was getting the hang of it, there was no staying away from the plantations for his soon-to-be-teenage son. He actually loved spending time with his father, and Rick knew it was important for them both. After Lori's passing, he had spent too much time away from his children. He had to get over his wife, of course, but Carl had lost his mother too, and he would forever regret the time he spent thinking about himself and his grief instead of being there for his children. No matter what others said about him needing time deal with all of this, they deserved a decent father at least. And he hadn't been able to be just that for them both.

Carl in particular had suffered from it the most, because Judith… well. He still had troubles with Judith. He loved the little girl more than anything, just like he loved his son. But it had been tough, at first. It had been tough to come back, and to assume his role of father with his little girl. He had missed almost an entire month of her life, and he was a total stranger to her. He had been so lucky that Daryl was there to step up, and be what he couldn't be at that point in his life. Judith wouldn't have survived without Daryl, and he was well aware of that.

Daryl .

The man that was now so much more than Rick's best friend. The man he had hated at first, all these months ago when they had met at the quarry, throwing squirrels at his head. Then, the one who had helped the group get out of the CDC, and afterwards had helped Rick keep the group alive until Hershel's farm. Then, he had looked for Sophia for days, nearly killing himself in the process, and he had always been by his side even when the group shattered from the inside. After Shane, and the loss of the farm, it all went to shit. But Daryl was still there.

Ever since, Rick looked at the man completely differently. He had recognized his attraction towards Daryl since the early days at the farm, and the complete disaster that was his marriage with Lori only added to his need to get closer to the other man. The problem was, Daryl wasn't gay. Or at least, Rick thought he wasn't gay. And even if he was, there was no proof that he'd be attracted to Rick, or that he even knew that Rick was bisexual. Only Lori and Carl knew, because he had never kept it secret from his wife when they met and didn't want his son to grow up thinking it wasn't okay not to be straight. But it didn't matter anymore. Because Lori had died, and it hurt, even if he wasn't in love with her anymore and hadn't been for a long time. And Daryl was more of a father to Judith than he had been.

And that was the other thing. Daryl was taking care of Judith. And when he had noticed that Rick wasn't entirely stepping in… Well. He had taken the role of father until Rick found his senses again.

And now, Rick had realized that he had fallen completely and irrevocably in love with Daryl Dixon. Seeing him taking care of his baby daughter for the first time, her tiny little wrists waving in the air to grab a hold on a strand of Daryl's hair while the hunter smiled softly… Well it was too much for his heart. He had never thought he'd see Daryl smile so sincerely to anyone, ever. But his little girl was a real miracle, and Daryl treated her as such. Truth be told, everyone in the prison was surprised by how fast Daryl had changed. Ever since the farm, the man kept getting softer, but since Judith was born? He had almost stopped growling at everybody, and that was something.

Rick often saw Maggie, Beth and Carol looking at Daryl and Judith fondly. He guessed he couldn't really blame them, because seeing this (very manly) guy and his huge arms handle a baby with care and shush her cries… Well, it was poetry. But it actually made him wonder how much longer he would be able to hide this attraction. More so now that he was officially back in business, being the fearless leader and all. Months had passed since he had lost his mind and since the governor had disappeared, but Rick's feelings never changed. On the contrary, he felt like they were getting stronger.

Now that he was trying to spend a little more time with his daughter, Daryl was away a little more. He went hunting for the group -the Woodbury people added a lot more mouths to feed, and he spent time with the others, too. Rick hated that he felt a little pang of jealousy twisting his insides when he saw Daryl spending time with the new people, teaching them a couple of things about how he hunted and being at least passably nice to everyone. It had taken so much time for the original Atlanta group to earn Daryl's trust, that Rick insides twisted in a very unpleasant way an awful lot lately.

Walking down the prison cell block with a sigh, Rick tried very hard not to feel disappointed again. He knew he was being irrational, especially since the group and the new people needed Daryl's guidance as much as he needed it himself. But he just… couldn't help it. And now there he was, in the middle of the night, heading to bed without having seen Daryl in two whole days because they both had a lot to do lately. Of course after Carl's demand to work on the plantations, Hershel had to come to him to ask him a couple of things, and soon he was heading towards the gates with Michonne and heading to town for a quick run.

And now, he was bone tired.

He was heading to his cell without showering tonight, even if the opportunity would have been perfect. Nowadays, the showers were rarely empty, and he would be sure to find them lacking of curious people at this hour of the night. But his sore muscles and his sleepy eyes wouldn't let him go anywhere but his cell, and he resigned himself to wake up a little earlier the day after to shower. So of course he was surprised when he approached his cell quietly to see that he wasn't going to be alone in the small space.

Daryl was standing there, back to him, and seemed completely unaware of his presence for the time being. His shoulders where hunched a little and Rick noticed that he was holding something; or rather someone. It was only when he saw little feet kick in the air and heard a little high pitched sound that Rick realized that Daryl was rocking his fussy daughter against his strong chest, his low voice reaching his ears immediately.

"Come on, now, baby girl." he whispered, Judith replying with a tiny laugh. "Don't you wanna go to sleep?"

Judith was an easy baby, always had been. She very rarely cried, and never complained about anything. But more often than not lately, she had started being fussy when it was time to go to sleep. However, it was often Rick or Beth that were taking care of her in these moments, not the hunter.

"What if your daddy comes back, huh?" Daryl kept going, voice still as soft as before. "He's gonna be tired, you know that?"

He adjusted his hold on her, and Rick was now able to see the top of his daughter's head behind Daryl's huge biceps.

"He needs more sleep, lil' ass kicker. I know you don't care yet, but your daddy is the best damn man I've known in my life and that's saying a lot because I've met some ass-hats back in the day."

Rick tried very hard not to smile fondly. He failed.

"You don't want him to be tired, do you, girl? I know you don't. You should let your daddy get some sleep, then."

But Judith was a Grimes, no matter who her biological father was. And Grimes were known to be pig headed, and she was no exception. As soon as Daryl's words left his lips, Judith made a loud offended sound that resonated in the vast cell. Daryl sighed, shaking his head lightly.

"Damn, I should've known you'd be as stubborn as your father, girl. I swear you're gonna be a tough little one, you too."

One of his big hands raised above her to caress the side of her face, and the little girl made a sound of content under the attention. Daryl shifted a little bit too, and Rick could now see the side of Daryl's face as well as his daughter's. He tried to stay as still as he could in this situation, too captivated by the scene in front of him to interrupt it so soon.

"You know you've got the same eyes, too?" Daryl commented, and Rick was now able to see Judith look at him with a happy, toothless smile.

It made his heart flutter in the best way to see how his daughter looked up at Daryl. He truly was her hero, and Rick could easily admit that he was his, too.

"I can't resist these damn eyes," muttered the hunter, almost to himself.

Rick's heartbeat stopped entirely before picking up. What did Daryl mean by that? Surely, there was no way in hell he could be interested in Rick. After all those months of pining over the hunter, he would have noticed if the feeling was mutual, and he couldn't allow himself to hope too much. Lost in his thoughts, he almost jumped out of his bones when Daryl began talking again.

"But don't you tell him that, alright? I don't want him looking at me crazy after that. Your dad has been through some heavy shit, and I don't want him to worry about me having the hots for him, alright?"

Rick felt like he had just walked into one of his craziest dreams. Daryl Dixon was stroking his daughter's face slowly, smiling down at her and confessing his undying love for him right before his very eyes. The situation was complicated, too, because he knew that if he moved at this moment, Daryl would flee from him for days, if not weeks.

But right on cue, as he was beginning to panic and wonder how he'd get out of this situation, Daryl sighed and moved Judith a little bit in his arms.

"Come on, girl. Ya gotta sleep now, okay?"

He tried to put her down in her crib, but she started screaming as soon as her little head hit the pillow in it.

"Oh come on, lil' asskicker! You can't sleep in my arms every night, you know?"

Wait, what ? Rick vaguely remembered Beth talking about someone helping her with Judith sometimes, taking her in their cell for the night when she was being fussy and her daddy needed some well deserved sleep. But never in the name of hell could he have imagined that this someone was Daryl himself. He felt a little dizzy at the thought, his mind immediately imagining the big strong hunter cradling his daughter against his chest while she fell asleep, and he wanted to cry at the mere thought. Was he so blind to everything happening around him?

Just as Daryl was picking Judith up again, Rick knew that it was time for him to step in the cell and make himself visible. He faked a loud yawn, walking slowly inside the cell, and two pairs of eyes immediately turned to him.

"Rick," said Daryl, his cheeks turning a little pink. "you been here long?"

Rick smiled, hoping to be a better actor than Glenn.

"Nah, I just got home. You're having troubles with this little lady?" he turned his gaze to his daughter, who babbled joyfully.

"Nah," Daryl shrugged, still holding her against his chest. "Just gave her bad habits, that's all."

When Judith nuzzled her head against Daryl's neck, Rick turned his gaze to the other man.

"Really now?"

"Yeah. Let her sleep against me that one time two nights ago, and she won't fall asleep without me ever since." he replied, embarrassed. "That's why I'm here, 'cause Beth couldn't put her to sleep."

And suddenly, the perfect opportunity presented itself to the ex sheriff's deputy, who tried very hard not to grin like a maniac.

"Why don't you sleep here with me, then?" he asked, trying to sound casual as he motioned to the bed.

He didn't know if Daryl's eyes going huge were any indication that he succeeded, though.

"What?" asked the hunter in a strangled voice.

"My bed's big enough for two," Rick kept going, trying very hard to keep a straight face. "Maybe you can sleep here tonight? Honestly, I'm so tired I could use a good night's sleep, and if it's all that's gonna soothe her…"

Daryl still looked like a deer caught in headlights, but at least his shoulders relaxed a little bit.

"I mean, I could take her to my cell and-."

"Nonsense," insisted Rick. "Her covers, everything's here. Come on man, we've slept curled up with everyone a on the cold hard floor a thousand times before, what's wrong with the both of us in a bed?"

He knew exactly what was wrong. But it was his only chance, and he would be damned if he didn't take it.

"Alright," finally conceded Daryl, looking down at Judith rubbing her little eyes with closed fists. "We'll try that tonight. Just… yeah. Tonight."

Rick quite honestly didn't remember the last time he'd been this happy when both men settled down awkwardly on the mattress, Judith tucked between their bodies and facing each other. It was awkward at first, that was for sure, but soon Judith's little sounds of happiness and their exhaustion made them relax a little bit. Daryl's right hand was holding Judith, his big palm looking huge on the little girl's belly, and at some point Rick couldn't resist anymore. He put his hand on Daryl's slowly, letting an opportunity for the other man to back away if he wanted.

"Thank you," he whispered when Daryl's breath hitched at the contact.

Their eyes connected, and at this moment Rick felt like he had finally found his place in this new world, after all the months of insecurity and doubt.

"What for?" Gasped Daryl, not even bothering to hide how the contact affected him.

"For everything."

Between them, Judith finally fell asleep, her little fists clenched tight in Daryl's shirt and her face turned towards her father. The two men looked at her for a long time in complete silence, hands entwined on the baby's belly. Rick didn't feel himself slip into unconsciousness, but he knew it was the best sleep he'd had in months. And if his eyes watered when he realized that Daryl was still here when he woke up, snoring softly in Judith's short hair, well… Lil' asskicker was the one and only witness.


End file.
